Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison Holdings (Hutchison) has announced its intention to sell its operating stake in the Panama Canal to an American company. According to the Associated Press, Hutchison plans to sell 90% of its shares in its subsidiary, Panama Ports Company, to a consortium consisting of American asset management firms BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and TiL Group (BlackRock). The Panama Ports Company operates the Balboa and Cristobal ports near the Panama Canal.
In addition to this, Hutchison has agreed to transfer around 80% of its global port business to BlackRock. This means BlackRock will acquire 43 ports in 23 countries, including the two ports in Panama, as well as ports in Mexico, the Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, and Pakistan. The total value of this transaction is reported to be approximately 22.8 billion dollars (around 33.2 trillion Korean won).
Frank Sixt, the Group Managing Director of Hutchison, emphasized that the expected cash proceeds are over 19 billion dollars, and the decision for the sale is purely commercial, unrelated to any recent political news surrounding the canal.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump had criticized China’s alleged excessive influence over the Panama Canal during his election campaign, suggesting that the United States should operate the canal and even threatening military intervention to achieve this. Bloomberg and the Washington Post had previously analyzed that Trump’s remarks were essentially targeting Hutchison.